All of those suddenly interested fans who have all of their new Tiger gear on are taking a step back.

Not me.

Granted, the Tigers start has been less than impressive, but I think the weather (as has been the case with many teams) is not allowing anybody to get into a comfort zone.

If the Tigers are still flirting with .500 after April, then I may become concerned.

Remember, they fell to 5-4 last year before hitting their stride.

I believe this team is one West Coast road trip away from exploding.

Title Town…

…Michigan States hockey team skated into the Frozen Four as an after thought. The Spartans skated out of it as the national champions  and they did it in dramatic fashion.

With 18.9 seconds to play, Justin Abdelkader broke a tie to send MSU to its first national title in 21 years.

Thats why hockey, especially playoff hockey, is a funny game.

A bad bounce here or there and upsets can happen.

Also solid defense and goaltending doesnt hurt  and the Spartans had both of them throughout the tournament.

Masterful…

…As I watched the final round of the Masters on Sunday, I kept waiting for Tiger to make his charge.

It never happened, and in the end, golfs greatest tournament provided us with a very deserving winner in little-known Zach Johnson.

Prior to the Masters not many outside of the most diehard golf fans had heard of Johnson.

Now, we will never forget him.

Johnson was in the unenviable position of having a two-shot lead with two holes to play and Tiger Woods building momentum behind him.

At that point, I fully expected Johnson to go bogey-bogey and at the very least see Tiger force a playoff.

Instead, Johnson showed the type of poise you would expect out of a major champion.

While Johnson was playing steady, Tiger was fighting his game.

He couldnt drive, surely couldnt make a putt, and just didnt have that it that hes shown in the past.

Despite Tigers troubles, the day and the tournament belonged to Johnson.

At 31, hes still young enough to build on his Masters win and, who knows, maybe even add another major or two.

Even if he doesnt win another tournament for the rest of his career, he won the Masters, which means he will be invited back for life and will forever have that coveted green jacket.

Goodell brings the hammer…

…NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is officially my new favorite commissioner of any major sport.

Earlier this week, Goodell suspended the Tennessee Titans Adam Pacman Jones for the entire 2007 season and Chris Henry of the Cincinnati Bengals for eight games under the NFLs existing conduct policy.

Goodell also said a new policy will be put into place that will have larger fines and longer suspension for players who repeatedly get into trouble.

It is a privilege to represent the NFL, not a right, Goodell said in a statement announcing the suspensions. These players and all members of our league have to make the right choices and decisions in their conduct on a consistent basis.

Jones, who has only played two seasons for the Titans has 10 recorded incidents involving the police, including numerous arrests.

Meanwhile, Henry has been arrested four times during the past 14 months and was suspended two games last year.

This is a great step by Goodell as he knows that the fans dont want to pay their hard-earned money to see a bunch of criminals on the field.

He had to make an example out of these two to deter any others who think they can do what they want, when they want without any consequences.

Remembering Robinson…

…Sunday will mark the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson becoming the first African-American to play Major League Baseball.

Around the league, many players will be allowed to wear Robinsons No. 42, which was retired league-wide on the 50th anniversary.

Every player of the Dodgers will wear the number to honor Robinson.

Baseball was widely regarded as the worst sport when it came to racism and segregation, but then-Brooklyn Dodgers executive Branch Rickey signed Robinson to take the game in the right direction.

Over 10 years, he put together a Hall of Fame career and endured the type abuse that no person should ever have to face.

But he did with the dignity and class  and thats why he will continue to be honored.

On the field, he was spiked and thrown at.

Off of it, he had to endure hateful language and death threats.

Not once did Robinson ever strike back.

Instead, he just played harder in order to win those people over.

In the end, thats what happened as he opened the door for all minorities to play Americas past time.

Currently, over 40 percent of baseball is made up of minorities, but only 8.4 percent of that is African-American.

Prior to Robinson, it was unthinkable for an African-American or any minority to play in Major League Baseball.

But due to his courage, the doors have been opened to all races and nations to play baseball  and for that, Robinson will never be forgotten.

Jar of the Week…

…I always place the items in my column in a particular order and this one is no different.

I brought you that take on Jackie Robinson, so I could bring you this one.

Until the other day, I had never heard of Don Imus.

Now, I cant turn on ESPN without seeing an item related to him.

Imus is apparently one of those people that just doesnt get it.

He recently referred to members of the Rutgers womens basketball team as nappy-headed hos on his national radio program.

At first I didnt believe it until I heard it over and over during the last few days.

Imus said it was a poor choice of words and a failed attempt at humor.

He insists hes not a racist and is getting an unfair rap for this.

Unfair?

You let loose with one of the most bigoted statements Ive ever heard and you think the backlash is unfair?

I dont know if Imus is a racist or not, but what he said was not only racist, but sexist, as well.

Unless theyve given ho a whole new definition, thats not what I am, said Kia Vaughn, the teams sophomore center in an AP story.

Many are calling for Imus to be fired and maybe he should be as sponsors are now pulling their advertisements from his show. For now, he will begin serving a two-week suspension beginning next week.

In the day an age we live in, we have to be so very careful with our choice of words.

Even if we give Imus the benefit of the doubt, he deserves everything he gets because theres a difference from being funny and controversial and just being mean spirited.

Paul P. Adams is a sports writer for the Huron Daily Tribune and can be reached at (989) 269-6464 ext. 112 or padams@hearstnp.com. The Week That Was appears every Tuesday and Thursday.